Obama signals easing, not end, of drone strikes on Pakistan

In a major foreign policy address on Thursday, President Barack Obama indicated he is easing off on the drone strikes, which have already tapered off this year, saying such attacks may not be wise or moral in every instance, even if they are legal and effective.

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is finally getting some relief - although not total closure - from the unrelenting American drone attacks that have become part of the undeclared US war on the country. In a major foreign policy address on Thursday, President Barack Obama indicated he is easing off on the drone strikes, which have already tapered off this year, saying such attacks may not be wise or moral in every instance, even if they are legal and effective.

In a nearly hour-long speech at the National Defense University outside Washington, the US President covered the gamut of issues related to the so-called war on terror, treading a delicate line between American exceptionalism and unilateral action, and the moral and ethical code it was bound by. He also praised Pakistan's sacrifices, although it was underlined by the subtle subtext of the state's lack of will and capacity to meet the terrorism threat headlong.

Still, Obama indicated that direct actions against terrorist havens in Pakistan, such as the Abbottabad raid, will be more the exception than the rule. Drones strikes themselves will be bound by new Presidential policy guidelines that he signed on Wednesday that would insist upon clear guidelines, oversight, and accountability.

"It's also not possible for America to simply deploy a team of Special Forces to capture every terrorist...To put it another way, our operation in Pakistan against Osama bin Laden cannot be the norm." Obama said. "The risks in that case were immense. The likelihood of capture, although that was our preference, was remote given the certainty that our folks would confront resistance. The fact that we did not find ourselves confronted with civilian casualties, or embroiled in an extended firefight, was a testament to the meticulous planning and professionalism of our Special Forces, but it also depended on some luck. And it was supported by massive infrastructure in Afghanistan."

And even then, he added, "The cost to our relationship with Pakistan - and the backlash among the Pakistani public over encroachment on their territory - was so severe that we are just now beginning to rebuild this important partnership."

US Drone strikes in Pakistan have eased off sharply in 2013, after reaching a peak of 117 in 2010, about one in every three days. There were 65 strikes in 2011, 46 in 2012, and only 13 in 2013, according to Long War Journal, which tracks US Drone activity.

Obama said the use of force "must be seen as part of a larger discussion we need to have about a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy - because for all the focus on the use of force, force alone cannot make us safe. We cannot use force everywhere that a radical ideology takes root; and in the absence of a strategy that reduces the wellspring of extremism, a perpetual war — through drones or Special Forces or troop deployments -- will prove self-defeating, and alter our country in troubling ways."

So the next element of US strategy, he said, involves addressing the underlying grievances and conflicts that feed extremism - from North Africa to South Asia. This is a vast and complex undertaking, he conceded, and "We must be humble in our expectation that we can quickly resolve deep-rooted problems like poverty and sectarian hatred. Moreover, no two countries are alike, and some will undergo chaotic change before things get better.